South Korea’s foreigner-only casinos posted weaker turnover in 2017 as the brick-and-mortar facilities welcomed fewer visitors last year.

Latest figures from the country’s National Gambling Control Commission (NGCC) showed that turnover of foreigner-only casinos fell by 5.37 percent to less than KRW1.21 trillion (US$1.09 billion) in 2017. The NGCC did not provide a reason for the slump but the agency noted a decline in the number of casino visitors.

The number of visitors who trooped to South Korea‘s 16 foreigner-only casinos dropped by 6.22 percent to 2.22 million visitors last year. According to the NGCC, foreigner-only casinos account for 5.56 percent of the country’s total gaming turnover.

South Korean casino operator Paradise Co. Ltd., which operates four foreigner-only casinos, including the country’s first major integrated resort Paradise City, took a beating in 2017 thanks to the ongoing diplomatic tensions with China.

Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) plans to collect more than AUD20 million (US$14.73 million) annually following the implementation of the new online betting point-of-consumption tax (POCT) in the country’s three states.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the NRL had been lobbying the New South Wales (NSW) government for an annual windfall from the 10 percent online betting tax that the state will introduce next year. An NRL insider was quoted by the Aussie news outlet saying that it’s only fair for the league to get a slice of the POCT that the governments will collect from corporate bookmakers.

“[The tax] is something that is being brought in in every state and we will also be making strong representations in Queensland and Victoria, where our clubs are based,” the NRL insider said, according to the news outlet.

NRL follows in the footsteps of Racing NSW, which secured a legislative guarantee of AUD40 million ($29.48 million) a year from the POCT. The Peter V’Landy-led Racing NSW was able to convince the state government to give them a 2 percent cut of the tax imposed on wagers that NSW residents place on racing events.

Nasdaq-listed cloud-based software company Epazz Inc has filed a patent for a blockchain solution that will manage the compliance of online sports gambling operators in the United States.

In a regulatory filing, Epazz announced on Wednesday that it has developed a blockchain fantasy sport gambling solution that will keep track of state laws to determine if an individual is in compliance.

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal sports betting ban, Epazz pointed out that operators have to look up to each state law if they are in compliance.

Epazz’ patent application targets compliance management and verification of available funds, according to the company. The company’s cryptocurrency wallet, Zenapay, will verify all the details before an individual is allowed to participate in a transaction, according to the Chicago-based firm.

British online bookmakers are on track for a bumper start as the FIFA World Cup tournament enters its second week, according to payment processing company Worldpay.

The firm’s analysis of consumer spending data during England’s opening group match against Tunisia revealed that online betting activity soared by 50 percent ahead of England’s opening game. Much of the wagering action happened just before 5 p.m. on Monday, with Worldpay reportedly processing at least 78 bets per second.

However, the payment processing firm noted that the average spend per deposit was 7 percent lower this year, with more casual punters jumping in the wagering action.

“Football fans are not the only ones celebrating England’s win; Britain’s businesses also scored big as supporters bet big during England’s clash with Tunisia,” Worldpay’s Growth – Digital Content & Gambling Vice President Daniel Belda said in a statement.

Following the success of the inaugural CoinGeek.com bComm Conference in Hong Kong coupled with the BCH-chain tokenization capability announcement, the amount of inquiries I personally receive regarding opportunities in Bitcoin BCH have skyrocketed.

Such inquiries are coming in from iGaming professionals, Blockchain enthusiasts, conference organizers, friends, family- you name it- from all around the globe, about anything and everything to do with BCH.

Predictably and lucky for me, a number of these interested parties are London-based, a phenomenon our Founder Calvin Ayre pointed out in a September 2017 interview.  “The convergence of online gaming and Bitcoin is actually in London, it’s the global leader in both those spaces right now”, he said.

With this information under our hats, there are several BCH-focused events coming up in the London area that everyone, including iGaming professionals with an interest in BCH and Blockchain, should consider attending.

Rhode Island is but a governor’s signature away from becoming the seventh US state to have legal sports betting laws on its books.

On Wednesday, the Rhode Island senate approved the state’s fiscal 2019 budget, and Gov. Gina Raimondo said she intends to sign her approval by Friday. The $9.6b budget includes $23.5m that the state expects to earn as its share of the first year of legal sports wagering.

Rhode Island’s plan is to allow the state’s two brick-and-mortar Twin River casinos to offer sports betting. The betting technology will be provided by IGT, which already powers the state lottery and was the sole bidder for the tech contract in May.

IGT’s share of the betting revenue is projected to be $14.75m, while the casinos will take home $7.8m. The estimates are based on a somewhat optimistic projection that the casinos will handle around $910m worth of wagers from a population of just over 1m souls and with no web or mobile wagering in the state’s current betting language.

Hong Kong-listed casino operator NagaCorp has had a very successful run. Its 2017 gross gaming revenue (GGR) jumped by 85% to $926 million and its net profit improved by 39% to reach $255.2 million. It continued its winning streak this year, recording GGR of $243.19 million for the first quarter – an increase of 181% over the same period of last year. Now, its CEO and Executive Director, Tan Sri Chen Lip Keong, has upped his take in the company by a considerable amount.

Keong, whose net worth according to Forbes Magazine sits at around $3.7 billion, made an on-market purchase of 5.4 million shares of his company. The purchase was managed over several transactions, and he ultimately invested $5 million to acquire the shares. He now is in control of 65.84% of NagaCorp’s share capital.

NagaCorp operates NagaWorld, a casino in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The company holds a license to operate the casino until 2065 and will maintain a gambling monopoly in the capital city until 2035. It is the largest casino resort in all of Indochina, and faces Naga2, which NagaCorp opened in front of the resort in November of last year. Keong paid for Naga2 to be built out of his own pocket, spending $369 million after refusing to pay the high interest rates the banks were demanding to finance the casino.

When Naga2 was first announced, many thought that it could lead to “cannibalization” of NagaWorld. However, the increase in revenue shows that just the opposite has taken place and continued growth is expected by analysts.

AGTech Holding has hit the jackpot. After announcing earlier this month that it had won contracts to supply lottery terminals to the Chinese cities of Guizhou, Hebei and Shanghai, the Hong Kong-based company has now revealed that it has won another contract and will supply lottery terminals to the Sports Lottery Administration Center in Henan, China.

In a press release about the latest contract, the company said, “This demonstrates the group’s continued commitment to innovation and industry leading position in China’s lottery hardware market.”

A subsidiary of AGTech, GOT Technology Co., will supply the equipment. The company now controls almost 50% of the lottery hardware terminal market for China Sports Lottery.

The new terminals in all of the latest contracts provide an upgraded user experience. They offer dual screens that face both the customer and the store owner, which enhances the interactive experience during the purchase process. The terminals also include touch screens, making them easier to use.

Cryptocurrency firm Dragon Corp’s plans to build a floating casino in Macau appear to have sprung a leak but the company claims its VIP gaming business is off and running in South Korea.

Last September, Dragon Corp burst onto Macau’s casino scene with ambitious plans to introduce blockchain technology into local junket operations. The company planned to raise $400m via its Dragon Coin (DRG) initial coin offering, which would help fund the construction of a $300m, 1,600-square-meter floating Dragon Pearl Casino Hotel.

On Tuesday, Macau Business reported that Brova Idea AS, the Norwegian firm that Dragon Corp enlisted to develop its floating casino, had backed out of the project last November because, among other things, Dragon Corp kept delaying its first scheduled payment.

Brova Idea chairman Milo Andric told Macau Business that he’d traveled to Hong Kong at his own expense while his company was still in negotiations with Dragon Corp, to help pitch the project to investors.

Another round-up from the World Series of Poker this time focusing on a record-breaking third victory in the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship by Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi.

Charles Bukowski once wrote that he had lived during an era of ‘no writers at all.’

“Nothing else appeared, o.k., it’s a bad age,” said Bukowski in the poem Voices, “I suppose I am number one. But it’s hardly the same as when we had giants turning us on. Forget it: I’m living green.”

Despite winning $17m in live tournaments, and numerous titles including four World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles, Mizrachi’s style amongst the giants produces a frown or two. There’s no getting around it, Mizrachi is the bottle of brown sauce in the condiments box on the table of a cheap burger joint.

The Hendon Mob website becomes The Hendon Mob Championship, a €250 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event, during the Malta Poker Festival held at the Portomaso Casino in November.

It began as a one-page fanzine. A way for Barny Boatman to scribble down his thoughts on poker. It was never meant to become the largest poker results database in the world. Like me, it was an accident.

The Hendon Mob.

I once asked Barny if the guys had ever considered adding a fifth member. He reminded me that The Hendon Mob wasn’t a ‘made up thing’ it was what it was – four mates who all loved the game and travelled together.

The 2018 Wynn Summer Classic $1,100 NLHE wrapped up on Tuesday, having attracted its largest field to date. The number of players who descended on the casino for the tournament helped push the prize pool guarantee of $1 million to more than double that amount and the final outcome was decided after a deal between the final two players.

Kwun Li from Hong Kong and Australia’s Dominic Coombe made it to the final heads-up battle before the two decided to chop the pot. Li, who finished third in the PokerStars Championship Macau KH$5,500 NLHE tournament at the PokerStars Asia Open last year, was given the title and the first-place prize of $280,954. He has now won almost $500,000 in live action, combined with over $100,000 in online play at PokerStars.

Coombe was content with the second-place spot and the $266,639 he added to his bank. It was his biggest live cash to date, but with $3.4 million in online action, he’s a beast at the virtual tables.

The tournament attracted 482 players on Day 1a, followed by 951 on Day 1B and 994 on Day 1C. The field of 2,427 pushed the prize pool to $2,401,274 and was a record for any tournament in the history of Wynn Poker.